Notes from the Field (Baseball Prospectus) – Chris King tells the story of Colt Daninos, a high school pitcher who has faced some adversity, to put it mildly: “Colt was born with a rare disease known as DiGeorge Syndrome. It is caused by a missing chromosome in his body and has many symptoms, including neuromuscular problems, learning disabilities, congenital heart disease, and many others. It has required Colt to undergo surgery 14 times; it required his entire spine to be fused together. It keeps him reading at a third-grade level and will likely prevent him from attending college.” This article is so full of awesome. You might need tissues. And heck, as long as we’re all having a good cry, go ahead and read this bit about the guy who proposed at a Tampa Bay Rays game.

Tate, Padres Haven’t Given Up On Career (Baseball America) – Bill Mitchell reminds us that Donavan Tate remains in the organization. The third pick overall in the 2009 draft, now 24, is at High-A Lake Elsinore (whose Diamond somehow didn’t make Baseball America’s list of best ballparks in the minors). Tate still believes in himself: “I can play at a high level. I can compete with anybody, so I think this is going to be a good year.” While his optimism is admirable, he is way behind the proverbial curve. Big-league success is probably unattainable at this point, but life success remains within his grasp. Here’s hoping. [h/t Mike Couzens]

For ex-Dodgers star Matt Kemp, Padres offer chance at fresh start (SI.com) – Ben Reiter chats with Kemp about injuries, aging, and more. Money quote: “I can still run, but I can’t run like I used to run. I got to do a lot more maintenance, making sure my body is right. When I was younger, I could just get out of bed, go play a game and be good. I’ve got to warm up, get those muscles loose to get ready for a game. It’s a process now.” [h/t Brady Phelps]

Recently I had the chance to ask Miller a few questions via the magic of email. Here they are, along with his informative responses:

Son of a Duck: When people see “mental skills coach,” they may think you’re a psychologist, but that’s not quite right. What exactly does your job entail?

Geoff Miller: Yes, there is a difference between being a psychologist and employing methods of sport psychology. I prefer the term “mental skills coach,” as it’s important for me to make a distinction between the two fields. I work exclusively with athletes on understanding how to perform under pressure and learning what it takes to use all of their physical talents on a consistent basis in their sports. I don’t do any work involving clinical issues like depression, drug or alcohol addiction, relationship issues, or general mental health counseling. My role is educational and strategic rather than medical in nature and, in fact, a good deal of the work we do at my company is executive coaching. Mental skills coaching could be seen as “executive coaching” for athletes. There’s a big misconception that my work is usually about helping athletes when they have “problems,” but even if that misconception is about helping athletes when they are slumping, much more of my work is helping athletes understand how to be their best and teaching them ways to get to the top or stay at the top of their professions.